


Lifeblood

by Shaded Mazoku (Ashkaztra)



Series: Bloodborne [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Blood Drinking, M/M, Vampire!Sheppard, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-12 04:17:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1181783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkaztra/pseuds/Shaded%20Mazoku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Porn Battle XV, the prompt John Sheppard/Todd, alien, life-force, vampire. </p><p>Hunger burns and instincts are so hard to control, but sometimes help is found in questionable places. </p><p>(Or; an excuse to write vampire smut. Featuring vampire!John Sheppard)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifeblood

The sun was too bright.  
   
John lifted his head to glare at it half-heartedly as he walked. The medication Carson had come up with evened out the photosensitivity enough that his skin didn't blister under the sunlight any more, but he still didn't enjoy bright light, and walking around the city with his sunglasses on got him some really strange looks from those who weren't aware of exactly what his condition entailed. Only the senior staff was informed of all the details, to delay the inevitable chaos that would ensue once the IOA and Stargate Command got the reports and the full story was made public.  
   
Of course, that wouldn't happen until they actually had a decent explanation for what had happened to John, so he supposed he had a little time yet before the IOA demanded he'd be sent back for study or something like that.  
   
Needless to say, he was not looking forward to it. He wasn't a big fan of the IOA as it was, and they weren't fans of his, either. At best, he was probably looking at exile to Atlantis, unable to go back to earth. He could probably live with that. There wasn't much left for him back on earth. His brother, perhaps, but even though they'd begun to work through their issues, they could probably do that just fine by email.  
   
At worst, he'd be vivisected alive. He wasn't foolish enough to think that there wouldn't be someone suggesting to try using what had happened to John to make augmented soldiers or something like that. It was amazing how willing people were to look past the unpleasant side effects and focus on the stronger and faster part.  
   
That much was true. John was stronger and faster now than he'd been, stronger than Ronon was, though not quite on par with a well-fed Wraith, and faster than either. Wraith weren't actually that much faster than humans, they were just more enduring. They didn't need to outrun their prey when they could outlast them. John wasn't that enduring, and he didn't heal as fast, though that might be more because of the drug that suppressed the ill effects. They seemed to diminish the good ones, too, but since they meant he could walk around in daylight without blistering and burning, and without being half-mad from hunger, he felt the pay-off was worth it.  
   
The hunger wasn't gone, far from it, but it no longer consumed him. It still burned beneath the surface, and occasionally he found himself looking at someone and wanting to bite at their flesh to get at the blood beneath, and then he had to go sit in his dark room for a while until it faded. It was more than a little frustrating, to find himself driven solely by instincts, and he needed to learn how to control it, or he'd hurt someone again.  
   
Which brought him down there, where the hallways were largely empty, walking past one unremarkable door after another. At some point, they'd upgraded Todd from cooperative prisoner to uneasy ally, and that had come with an upgrade from the cell to a room, as well. Granted, the room was in an all but abandoned section of Atlantis, and under the water level, but Todd hadn't complained. In fact, he mostly seemed amused at it all, which was more or less Todd's default approach to most of the expedition's decisions.  
   
John's relationship with Todd had always been complicated, and it hadn't become less so with John's current condition, even though he now understood Wraith a lot better than he'd ever wanted to. They'd never truly been enemies, but never really allies either, always somewhere in-between and beyond both. He didn't trust Todd further than he could throw him, not when it came to Atlantis and the expedition, but he did respect him. They were not so different, and they both knew it.  
   
More importantly, Todd was the only one he could turn to who knew anything about what it felt like when hunger threatened to gnaw his insides hollow, who knew what that burning feeling was, and unlike John, he never seemed to have a problem controlling it. Even when starving, Todd remained true to himself. John needed to learn that, needed to learn how to hold on to himself when the hunger raged at its worst, and he didn't know who else to ask.

He wasn't convinced Todd would help him, but at least coming down there meant getting out of the sunlight.

Theoretically, he could have just barged in. The door would readily have opened for him, but he did have some manners, and besides, he was down there to ask for help. Starting off by making Todd angry would be a bad idea, and John had no idea how Todd would even react if he did just waltz in. On one hand, Wraith seemed to have little concept of privacy, with the whole telepathic network thing, but on the other hand, they were territorial and this was Todd's room, if just a room he used while in Atlantis. John certainly wouldn't have liked someone come into his room uninvited, and he wasn't about to treat Todd like that. 

Not even if he hadn't needed his help.

Instead, he buzzed the doorbell and waited, feeling almost nervous for some reason, though he had no idea what that might be.

It didn't take Todd long to come get the door. The Wraith was out of his coat, which did a lot to make him look less severe and more approachable, his hair half-heartedly pulled back with a piece of string. 

"Sheppard," he offered as a greeting, though he didn't sound at all surprised to see John there. He didn't ask why he was there, either, just stepped to the side to allow John inside. 

The room had been mostly empty when they'd assigned it to Todd, and John hadn't really been there since, not with all the crazy things that had been going on both in the galaxy as a whole and with his own biology. Somehow, the Wraith had managed to acquire a variety of things to decorate his little corner of Atlantis, most of which were decidedly Wraith in nature. The lights in the room were all the organic-looking light nodes that were typical of hive ships, casting a warm and dim glow across the room, and he'd used panes of whatever it was the coats were made of to create dividers for the room. The effect was strange, a Wraith-Ancient hybrid that almost seemed inviting, which was not something John had ever expected to even consider. 

A few of the items in the room weren't Wraith or Ancient in origin, though. There was a set of Athosian ceramics on a small table, some jar candles that were definitely from Earth, and there was a potted plant in one corner of the room, what looked like a kind of cactus. A shelf held a selection of books, most of which were Ancient, but there were contemporary Earth novels in there. John had to wonder whose brilliant idea it was to give a Wraith a copy of Silence of the Lambs. 

The effect was strange. The room seemed lived in, rather than just a room they put Todd in when there was no guards to keep an eye on him and nothing for him to do, which was unexpected. Todd himself seemed pretty smug about John's reaction to his quarters, and John suspected that he'd made an effort to make the room a living space and not just a prettier cell, simply because he knew it'd unsettle the humans. It was the kind of thing Todd would do. 

It was surprisingly welcoming none the less, the warm lighting and refractions from the water outside the windows creating a lively shadow effect that danced around the room. John walked past Todd and over to what seemed to be a seating area, a couple of large chairs the dominant feature. He recognised those chairs; they'd been found in storage but were clearly not Ancient, probably part of a gift from one of the local worlds back before the war with the Wraith had been lost. They were notorious as the heaviest pieces of furniture in the city, though John supposed that probably didn't deter a Wraith. He sat down in the chair opposite from where Todd had obviously been seated before John arrived, judging by the open books and the tablet on the table, a teacup nearby still warm enough that John picked up on it immediately. 

His senses were out of control as well, though that was a lesser problem at the moment. One thing at a time, and he was far more worried about his hunger and blood-lust than his new-found ability to sense heat. It wasn't nearly as bothersome. His senses were just sharper, better, picking up on things he'd never noticed before. He'd have taken Todd's shirt as black once, but even in the dim light of the room, John could see now that it wasn't. It was a dull, dark purple, the stitching around the neck and wrists the only part of it that was actually black. It was distracting to suddenly sense so much more, but it was not something he couldn't handle.

"What brings you down here, Sheppard?" Todd asked, sitting down in his own chair, looking at John with a strange expression. Mostly, he seemed curious, but there was something else behind it. Apprehension, perhaps. He had all the reasons to be cautious of his situation. They both knew that the alliance was a pretty word for hostage. 

"I need help," John admitted, though he'd have preferred to draw it out. It was better to be up front about it, however, at least when Todd was already on the alert. "The hunger won't go away, and you're the only person I know who has any idea what it's like."

Their hungers were somewhat different, perhaps, but not more than that Todd was his best bet. 

"I can't be around people like this," John explained, the words falling out of his mouth with surprising ease. "All I can think of is the blood in their veins, and I can't concentrate on anything else. Even when I've just fed." 

Todd nodded. "It is a feeling I know well," he agreed. 

"You don't seem distracted by it, though," John pointed out, scowling a little. For all that Todd was a Wraith, he rarely seemed at all inclined to feed on any of the expedition humans. 

"I am much older than you are," Todd informed him, as though he didn't already know that. "I have lived with the hunger for a very long time. You are young still, and have not learned to control your needs. That is to be expected. Hunger gnaws and burns, and has driven many younger Wraith to make bad decisions."

Snorting, John raised an eyebrow. "Which one in particular?" He asked, a bit sharper than he'd intended. Wraith decisions made no sense to him. 

"Sateda," Todd offered quietly, and John felt himself tense up. He didn't want to think about Sateda if he could, because it was a mess, and Ronon still bore the scars, all these years later. It did confirm that what had happened with Sateda was an exception rather than the norm, though, which was at least some comfort. Wraith had to eat, and it was something John tried not to think about too often, because it was sort of terrifying in its moral minefield, but there was having to eat and then there was eradicating a people, its culture and then using one of the few survivors as an entertainment source. Every species had its assholes, and clearly Sateda had been a shining example of highly unpleasant Wraith.

It still didn't alleviate the slight guilt John felt about hanging out with a Wraith considering what they did to people. 

It really wasn't something he wanted to dwell on, not ever if he could avoid it. 

He went silent, staring down into his teacup, as though all the answers of the universe were hidden on the bottom of the cup.

"You said you find it hard to be around your friends?" Todd asked after a while, looking at him, eyes glowing in the candlelight. 

Their blood sang when they were around, calling to him, and John was finding it hard to resist. He hadn't slipped up, not since the time he'd bitten Ronon during the first hunger haze, but the urge was always there. It made him unwilling to spent too much time with his team, not until he was certain he wasn't a threat to them. He would find a way to control himself, but until he did, it was safer for his friends if he stayed away.  
"Yes," he agreed. "I don't trust myself around them. Not like this."

Todd nodded, as though he understood. He probably did. There was no doubt that he knew hunger better than most. "But my presence does not bother you?"

"No," John said. It didn't, not really. Wraith were different, their bodies colder and their blood slower, a whisper instead of a song. He still wanted to feed, but it wasn't nearly as urgent. "It's different with Wraith, I think."

He gave Todd a wry grin. "Besides, you're still stronger than I am, and you heal fast. I don't need to worry about hurting you."

"That is true," Todd agreed readily. "The medication does not help, then?" 

John shook his head, looking at the tea cup in his hands. His reflection looked back at him, his eyes glowing in the light like Todd's own did. Another trait of his new condition. "It keeps my condition manageable," he told Todd. Without it, he'd still be half-feral from hunger, but it didn't cure him. "But I'm still hungry, and nothing seems to help."

"A familiar sensation," Todd remarked, sipping his tea, the small stoneware cup completely engulfed by his hands. "It burns when you cannot sate it."

"Constantly," John agreed. He was closer to Wraith than human these days, food and drink doing nothing to dispel the constant gnawing hunger. The Ancients had a lot to answer for, with their inability to ever safely shut down an experiment. They'd been happy to just lock their problems away and hope they'd never had to deal with them. They'd been wrong, as proven again and again. If they'd been willing to take responsibility for their actions, John wouldn't have been facing a lifetime of needing to be medicated to avoid succumbing to vampirism. 

He might be a little bitter about that.

He felt like he had the right to be, though. The Ancients had created a dangerous retrovirus in an attempt to achieve all the benefits of Wraith and none of the downsides, and when they'd been unable to get rid of the need to feed, they'd just left it in a lab and abandoned it. Thousands of years later and it came back to bite him. Literally.

Carson had given his condition a proper medical term, something about obligatory haemophagy, but John still referred to it as vampirism. It wasn't an exact match, of course. He was hardly some undead creature from a horror story, but it was as good a name as anything.  
"Even now?" Todd asked, bringing John out of his thoughts. The Wraith was watching him, head tilted in curiosity. 

"Yes," John admitted. He didn't have the same infra-red vision Wraith did, but he could practically feel the blood run through Todd's veins, slower and cooler than in a human, but still tempting. He'd tasted Todd's blood before, and though he couldn't remember much of the days he was under the feral haze, he remembered the taste. Rich and metallic, though not sweet or warm, like human blood. 

"It hurts to hunger like that," Todd mused, swirling his near-empty cup around. "A hollow ache that settles in the stomach, spreading and burning. No matter that you do, it lingers, lingers and grows until it feels like it is gnawing its way out from the inside. Like it is threatening to consume you, a bonfire that never ends." 

John shivered, the words echoing within him. The hunger wasn't so bad now, not a need as much as it was a desire, but the fire was still there.

Getting to his feet, Todd walked past him to pour another cup of tea. The tea smelled nice, an earthy, woodsy smell. It was an Athosian blend, one of John's favourites, though it did little to sate him any longer. The taste was pleasant, but nothing else. The only thing that made him keep drinking was habit.

Todd walked up behind him, reaching past him to place the cup on the table, in front of John. In doing so, his wrist caught John's eyes, the absence of his usual wrist-guards suddenly very evident, the skin there thin enough that the vein was clearly visible. 

Swallowing, John was suddenly very aware that his mouth had gone dry. He had barely been aware when Todd had let him feed from him before, not aware enough to remember the details. All he remembered was the hunger, the hunger and the taste of metal in his mouth as the hunger was lulled into dormancy.

He hadn't fed since, not really. Carson had given him blood from the blood bank, but that wasn't anything like the feeling of fresh, rich blood in his mouth. Nothing else was.

Shaking his head, he brought himself out of the haze and turned to glare at Todd. The Wraith was far too calculating to be that careless.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, pointedly not looking at Todd's extended arm. He didn't appreciate being mocked. 

The Wraith tilted his head again and smiled, teeth bared. "It seems to me that you have a choice. You can suppress what you have become. The medication will no doubt help you. In time, they might even find better treatments. You might live like you are accustomed to some day."

"I fail to see the downside," John told him.

"Or," Todd continued, unperturbed. "You can learn to control it. You are almost as strong as Wraith now, and you heal as we do. If you can control it, it will be a powerful advantage. It would make you capable of great things."

It wasn't like John hadn't thought about having Wraith abilities before, but he'd never wanted to deal with having to kill to live. 

"I can't feed without killing people," he pointed out. "That's kind of a deal breaker for me." 

The expression on Todd's face made it clear he didn't understand. John kind of wanted to tell him off, but he knew better. Wraith couldn't live without killing, and they saw nothing wrong with what they did. There was no point in trying to even make him see, because he probably wouldn't. 

"You must feed to live," Todd finally agreed, still not moving an inch, his wrist still tantalizing close, his slow and steady heartbeat surprisingly loud in John's ears. "But kill? Perhaps. Or perhaps you might find a different path. You feed from blood, and blood regenerates with time. Humans donate blood freely, do they not?"  
   
That was something John had considered. Theoretically, it was certainly possible for him to drink a little from several persons rather than to drain one person entirely. That wasn't the problem. "I can't trust myself to do that," he explained, shoulders slumping. "I might not be able to stop myself in time. Humans aren't like Wraith. That kind of blood loss can kill us."  
   
He looked at the table, away from Todd's unblinking stare. "Can kill them."  
   
"Sheppard," Todd began, and seemed to roll the name around his tongue as he often did. "You are perhaps the second most stubborn person I have met in my entire life. It is not like you to give up this easily."  
   
John snorted. "If you think this is easy…" He didn't finish the sentence.  
   
Todd didn't comment, just removed his arm. When he placed it back, there was blood welling up from where his claws had dug into the vein beneath the skin. "Of course it is not easy," he said. "Life is not easy. Death is. But you are strong enough, I think."  
   
The scent of blood was irresistible, flooding John's senses entirely. The blood was an offer, a promise, and it was so easy to reach up and grasp the offered wrist, sinking teeth into the skin. Todd's blood was cool, cool and thick, not like human blood at all, but the taste was rich and metallic on John's tongue and it was so easy to gulp down mouthful after mouthful, desperate to quench the burning hunger in his stomach. He could feel Todd's pulse like they were one, a slow and steady rhythm.  
   
When he pulled back, lapping the last drops of dark blood off of the skin, his breathing was coming faster, his skin feeling flushed.    
   
He couldn't remember feeling like that the last time he had fed from Todd, but he had been half mad from starvation then. It was different this time, the offer not made out of pity but of something else. Something more personal. John's whole body seemed to pulse with new-found energy, and he needed to act, to use it all.  
   
"Is your hunger sated?" Todd asked, voice a throaty rasp, watching his skin knit itself together where John's teeth had torn into it. He seemed deceptively calm, but John could hear his heartbeat and knew it was beating faster.  
   
Not quite trusting his voice, John just nodded, licking his lips. He should probably worry about what he had just done, and more so about what he was probably going to do, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Ever since he'd been infected, he had stopped feeling alive. Everything had been dull and blurred, only the hunger sharp enough to be in focus, but everything had come back into focus suddenly. For the first time in a long while, John felt alive. Alive and wanting more.

Letting his impulses drive him, he got to his feet, reaching out to grab onto Todd's shirt, dragging the Wraith closer and kissing him, hard. There was little care in the kiss, but John was far beyond caring if he cut his lips and tongue on Todd's sharp teeth, much more concerned with the need to feel something, anything. At first, Todd seemed almost surprised, but he recovered fast, giving a decidedly pleased, rasping sound in the back of his throat, returning the kiss with as much force and enthusiasm as John was showing. 

It had been a long time since anyone had kissed John like that, like John was the sole focus of their world for a moment, until he could barely breathe, even if he could go much longer without air than he had used to. For all that there had always been a strange connection between him and Todd, they'd never truly been equals, but it was closer than ever, John clinging to Todd as though he wanted to devour him and Todd's sharp claws digging into John's skin to drag him even closer. 

When they finally broke the kiss, both of them were somewhat out of breath, just looking at each other as they tried to fill their lungs again. Todd's eyes looked almost human, the pupil wide and open and almost round in appearance, a startling look in an alien. John grinned, glad to know it wasn't just him, and kissed him again, only slightly less frantically this time. Todd growled slightly, biting at John's lips, using his full weight to pin John against the nearest wall.

John hissed in pleasure, arching his body against Todd's, unwilling to give up any contact he could get. Todd was still stronger than him, still taller and heavier, and he honestly loved every moment of it, loved not having to take charge for once. He'd come into his own as commander, but being in charge had never really been his calling, not like it was Todd's. Dominance meant something more in Wraith society, though, and John had no intention to fight Todd for it. 

Not much, at least. 

He just wanted to feel life course through him again, and this was the closest he'd felt to that in a very long time, pinned beneath Todd against a wall and kissed long and forcefully, until they both had to break away to breathe again.

Todd's hands were sliding up underneath John's shirt, sharp claws tracing patterns against his skin. The touch were half claiming, half exploring, John's mostly human-like body as foreign to Todd as Todd's body was to John, and it felt wonderful, as though the touch was almost electrical, sending shivers throughout John wherever they touched. He eagerly lifted his arms to allow Todd to pull the shirt over his head, not caring where the Wraith threw it. The less barriers between them the better. 

The Wraith made a pleased sound, running his hands over John's skin with intent. He seemed fascinated with the skin beneath his fingers, with the differences between the two of them. He clearly knew what he was doing, no stranger to touching other males, but he probably hadn't ever touched a human like that before, unfamiliar with body hair and mammalian traits. Unfamiliar, but curious, and his fingers were quickly learning the ways to best touch John, learning how to draw the best reactions from him with every stroke. 

His nipples had never been particularly sensitive, but when Todd scraped his sharp claws over them with just enough pressure, they seemed almost electrified, and John eagerly arched into the touch. It had been way too long since anyone had touched him at all, and longer still since anyone had taken the lead, letting him just relax and enjoy the ride. Todd seemed to instinctively know exactly where and how to touch him, like he could read him like a book, and it was glorious. 

Making a soft sound of pleasure, John tugged Todd in for another kiss, one hand tangling into Todd's hair. He liked kissing, liked it a lot, and kissing Todd was especially nice, because he kissed like he wanted to drink the air from John's lungs, deep and hard, with little pretence of anything but raw desire. It was a little weird kissing someone that much taller, but only because it was new. He'd had male lovers before, but none of them had been quite as tall as Todd was. Not as strong either, and the way Todd effortlessly pinned him against the wall was making John's blood pump much faster. 

It wasn't until they broke the kiss again John realised that Todd's hand was resting on his chest, covering the slight scar from the last time they'd been this close, a scar that didn't want to heal entirely. The hand was relaxed, the thumb stroking gently against the skin, but it felt very heavy suddenly. Theoretically he had nothing to fear. For one thing, he didn't think Todd wanted to hurt him, and the Wraith had far better control of himself than John did, and besides, he was fairly sure that as long as he wasn't entirely drained of life, he'd be able to heal through the effects of a feeding now, his healing not quite on par with Wraith but not that far behind, either. 

Apparently picking up on John's thoughts again, Todd started to move his hand, but John reached up and grabbed the wrist, holding his hand in place. 

"Don't," he said, quietly, meeting Todd's eyes. "I want you to." 

He did, and that surprised him, because even with all the things that had happened to him, being fed on was the most painful thing he'd ever experienced. There had been so much more to it than the pain, though, and he knew what feeding did for him. It seemed only right to let Todd feel the same, that flush of raw pleasure as life spread throughout his system. He could handle the pain for that, at least for a while, and he knew he'd heal. 

The admission earned him another hard, deep kiss, Todd purring against him as he kissed him until John's lips felt bruised. Apparently he hadn't expected that, and John got almost as much pleasure from having surprised him as he did from the kiss. Almost. 

The hand on his chest pressed back down, and John braced himself, breathing deep and leaning against the wall. 

It hurt, though nothing like it had before. The pain was dulled by the fact that John could feel himself healing, could feel his life ebb and flow in a way that almost felt good despite the pain. His eyes slid shut, his head falling back against the wall, blocking out everything until all he could feel was the weight on his chest and the ever dulling pain. He couldn't say how long it lasted, time blurring into nothingness, but when Todd pulled his hand away from his chest, he still felt flushed, if flushed and a little sore.

"Sheppard?" Todd asked, genuine concern in his voice. The situation was as new to him as to John. He reached out and ran his hand gently down the side of John's face, a calming, reassuring caress.

John sighed softly, leaning his head into the touch. It felt good after the intensity of the feeding, a welcome little break. He didn't reply in words, but he opened his eyes and gave Todd a small smile, letting him know he was all right. 

He could smell his own blood on Todd's hand, where the claws and feeding organ had broken his skin. It didn't smell nearly as tempting as Todd's blood has, but it was still blood, and it was still tempting. Turning his head a little, he pressed a light kiss against Todd's palm, flickering the tip of his tongue against his skin. Wraith skin didn't taste as salty as human skin, giving off more of a earthy, almost mossy flavour. It wasn't a bad taste, and he found himself kissing a path up Todd's thumb, licking at the blood at the tip. 

Judging by the sharp intake of breath and the way Todd moved his hand to allow better access, he liked that. Encouraged, John lavished attention to the thumb, taking special care to lick up every trace of blood before moving on to the next finger. His blood was less than satisfactory, almost ashen in taste, but the way Todd reacted made it well worth it. It was a rare treat to get an upper hand on the Wraith, if just for a while. It made sense, he supposed, that the feeding hand would be sensitive, and John was pretty sure that most people would never be allowed this close.  
   
He was all too happy to take advantage.  
   
Once he'd cleaned Todd's fingers, he turned his attention to the palm, licking a path around the feeding slit, making sure to clean up every last drop of blood. The slit was still slightly parted, flushed from the feeding and glistening with enzyme, and John slowly dragged his tongue along it, wanting to see what would happen. The sound Todd made was somewhere between a strangled growl and a purr, fingers twitching. Smiling to himself, John licked the organ again, using a little more pressure, the tip of his tongue slipping into the slit. There was still traces of his own blood there, but mostly the taste was the earthy, slightly sweet taste of the enzyme, which was flowing freely, almost numbing his tongue a little. It felt strange, but Todd's strange near-purr in pleasure was well worth the slight discomfort. He wanted to see more of that, to see Todd with his guard down for once.

He smiled again, dipping his tongue deeper into the organ, eager to draw more of those reactions. 

By the time he stopped playing with the feeding organ, his lips and tongue were both tingling from the enzyme, feeling slightly puffy and sore, but Todd's eyes were almost all black and he was purring continuously, and John eagerly all but climbed into his arms, kissing him again, hard and demanding. Todd was all too willing to respond, dragging them along between the dividers and pushing John down onto the bed. 

Todd's bed was a thing of beauty, more a nest than anything, emulating Wraith style with available materials, but John found it very hard to concentrate on the bed design as he watched Todd strip out of his complicated clothing with the kind of grace that came from lots of practice. John did know what Wraith anatomy was like, of course, having read all of the reports, but it was one thing to read a clinical report and an another thing entirely to see that anatomy in motion, seeing the muscles move beneath the skin and the way Todd seemed to almost glisten in the light. The external differences between Wraith and humans were just enough that Todd looked very alien suddenly. Other alien species looked so different that he didn't know what to expect, but Todd was close enough to human in appearance that everything that was different stood out immediately. 

He wanted to touch Todd, wanted to trace his tattoos with his fingers and his tongue, to see if they felt different to the touch than the rest of his skin. He wanted to know what that skin would feel like against his, if it was as slick as it looked and how cool it'd be in comparison. Even with his new condition, John ran much warmer than the Wraith did, and the idea of that contrast made him wriggle in anticipation. 

First things first, however. Somehow, he managed to get off what was left of his clothing so it wouldn't get in the way later, and when he looked up, he found Todd watching him with an unreadable expression on his face. John just grinned at him and pressed back into the nest-like pile of soft fabrics that was the bed, enjoying the feel of their textures on his skin. "You coming?" He asked, looking up at the Wraith. 

Todd bared his teeth in an almost feral grin and joined him on the bed, crawling in between John's legs to kiss him, draping himself across him as he did. His skin felt almost cold against John's, but not nearly as slick as it looked, just cool and smooth. It felt very nice, and John readily tangled one hand into Todd's hair to keep him close, letting the other roam across any skin he could reach. It was almost good enough to just stay like that, making out like horny teenagers, but John wanted more, and he didn't think Todd was at all opposed to that idea. Shifting, he managed to get some friction, trapping his hardening cock between himself and Todd so that their every movement sent shivers throughout him, pleasure building slowly. 

Grinning into the kiss, Todd shifted his weight to press even closer, and John threw his head back and groaned in pleasure, hips lifting up. He could probably reach orgasm like that, just wriggling against Todd's solid mass, but it wasn't what he really wanted. 

Using his hold on Todd's hair to pull him even closer, John nipped at his ear, playing with the crescent plug going through the lobe. He was rewarded with another purr, Todd's entire body vibrating as he did, a foreign but welcome sensation. "Want you to fuck me," he murmured, digging the nails of his free hand lightly into Todd's shoulder. There was nothing he'd like more at the moment, the hunger and desperation from earlier completely forgotten. 

His purring deepening further, Todd licked a trail up John's neck, his tongue amazingly agile. "Is that so?" He asked, voice raw and raspy with desire. 

"Mmm," John agreed, angling his head to let Todd have better access. Being licked shouldn't feel that good, but somehow it still did, his whole body tingling with every stroke of Todd's tongue. 

When Todd moved away, John made a frustrated whine in the back of his throat. He didn't want Todd to move anywhere. 

Wherever it was he'd gone, though, he returned almost immediately, crawling on top of John again, kissing him hard, until John's lips felt bruised. He placed a vial into John's hand, bending his head to lavish attention on John's neck again, before moving lower, swiping his tongue across the scar from the feeding, refusing to fully heal just as the last one had. 

Despite being effectively trapped beneath Todd, John managed to open the little bottle, an almost resin-like scent escaping from within. He dipped a finger in and rubbed it against his thumb, considering the slickness of the oily substance. It seemed slippery enough for their need, though John had to wonder why Todd kept random bottles of oil around. He wasn't about to complain, however. There were better things to do.

Normally, he'd have enjoyed having his partner prepare him, but there was no way he was letting Todd put those sharp claws of his inside him, even if he could heal through it. It'd still be a painful mess, and that'd definitely ruin the mood. Besides, experience and years of being single meant he was perfectly capable of doing it himself. Grabbing Todd with his free hand again, John pulled him up for another kiss, wanting to feel Todd against his skin as he worked himself open. 

The Wraith was entirely happy to comply, pressing against John until their cocks were sliding against each other, the sensation pooling like fire in John's groin. John hissed into the kiss, picking up the pace as best he could. He was not a patient person when it came to these things, and he wanted more as soon as possible. Todd was not a small man in any aspect, but John didn't care at that point, just wanted Todd to take him hard until he couldn't remember his own name. 

"You are certain?" Todd asked, looking down at him, when John pulled his fingers free and lifted his hips eagerly. 

"Yes!" John informed him, no hesitation in his voice or in his mind. He wanted it more than he could remember ever wanting sex before. Maybe it was a side effect of the feeding thing, but he didn't care. He just wanted Todd to get on with it before he went crazy from anticipation. 

Todd made another of his pleased half-purrs. "Very well," he agreed, kissing John again as he took the bottle from John's hand to slick himself up. 

It'd been a long time since John had done that last, but his body seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to Todd, and he gasped in pleasure as Todd slowly pushed into him. The Wraith let him adjust for a moment before he began moving in earnest, thrusting into John's body with growing abandon. The first thrusts were slow, almost gentle, but as it became evident that John could take it, he picked up the pace until John couldn't quite think properly any more. He was definitely on the bigger side of proportional, and there were ridges, ridges that felt absolutely amazing.

Digging his nails into Todd's shoulders, John tried to pull him even closer, pushing back up against every thrust. In response, Todd shifted his angle a little, letting him move even deeper inside John, dragging across his prostate with every thrust, like little jolts of electricity running through John's body, building up slowly.

He probably wasn't going to last long, John knew. It'd been too long since the last time, and he'd never been fucked quite like that before. Todd was making a good effort to literally fuck him through the mattress, and John loved every moment of it, gasping and moaning in response to the thrusts. He could feel his orgasm building, the pleasure almost too much for him as it rushed him up to the edge and held him there, balanced on the edge with no way to back off.

When he came, his mind went white, and he made a very undignified, half-strangled moan and bit down on Todd's neck, his teeth digging into the flesh as he shuddered in his climax. He had no idea how long he clung to Todd like that before falling back onto the blankets, gasping for air. 

Todd was still moving against him, Wraith stamina still marginally superior, but it didn't take much longer for him to reach the point where he grabbed John's hips, claws digging into flesh as he buried his face against John's neck and let his own orgasm wash over him. 

They laid like that for a while, taking their time catching their breath. Todd was still purring, low and steady, his heartbeat unreasonably fast for a Wraith. Suddenly exhausted, John found himself really wanting to curl up like that and sleep. 

Sighing, Todd pulled himself to his feet and fetched some cloth to wipe them off, tossing it to the side when it had served its purpose, before climbing back into the bed, curling himself around John with natural ease. John was not a very physically affectionate person normally, but right then, he appreciated it, leaning into Todd to listen to him purr. Todd made a pleased sound and pulled one of the many blankets over them.

"I'm not sure what this accomplished," John murmured, a little dazed in the aftermath.

"I am not sure either," Todd mused, brushing fingers gently along John's face. "But I would be surprised if you still hunger."

He didn't, John realised. The only thing he could feel was exhaustion, and that was the good kind of exhaustion, the kind he got from exerting himself in a good way. His hunger was entirely absent and he suspected Todd's was, too. 

"Huh," he said, surprised, then chuckled to himself. "Does that mean this'll happen every time I start getting hungry? Because if so, I think I need to get a bigger bed."

Chuckling into John's hair, Todd made an amused sound. "Get some sleep, Sheppard. You will be needing it."

The last part sounded like a promise rather than the vague threat it might once have felt like. John wasn't sure what it was that was promised, and he knew he was most likely in well over his head with this whole thing, because even when he was friendly, Todd was still Todd, still manipulative and cryptic and generally impossible. Not at all a good person to get involved with, but if he was to be honest, the whole thing had seemed inevitable for a long while.

At least now, there was a semblance of equality that had never been there before.

There was definitely something Todd wanted from him, but it couldn't possibly be anything that couldn't wait until later. If it was the only time they'd end up having sex, John intended to get as much out of it as he could. 

With the hunger gone for a while, John actually felt like he might be equipped to deal with all of it. 

There was something decidedly ironic about it all, considering what Todd had told him once.

He really had become more like Wraith than he'd have ever known.


End file.
